It pains me to admit, but I got my first car in 1986 when I was 15 years old. That’s 21 years ago to-date. Wow. You would think after 20+ years of driving I’d be a little better at it. LOL. It was a 1962 Ford Anglia (the one with the angled back rear window). It was my baby and holds a lot of memories.

I remember having fun at the river with my friends taking it off-road through all the mud one afternoon, acting like real hooligans. After we had finished, as an effort to keep my parents from finding out, I came home while they were out and cleaned it from top to bottom, removing all the mud that could be used as evidence against me.

When my parents finally returned, they casually asked me how my afternoon had gone. I replied with a standard answer that would give away no clues to the true events of my afternoon. My parents replied with more casual questions, which in itself was suspicious. I cautiously answered with an inkling that something was not right. Finally they revealed that they had been watching me and my friends the whole time from a nearby bridge that overlooked the river.

They had been driving passed and happened to notice my car so stopped to see if everything was OK. I was busted. Thankfully the punishment was only an afternoon of embarrassment while my folks had their fun. As it turns out, that was enough. I never did it again (that I’m willing to admit at least). LOL.